Serendipity
by Yamadori
Summary: Blue Dragon: Tenkai no Shichi Ryuu. When an injured Shu is hit by an attack that should kill him, he awakens to find himself in Mafe before its destruction.


**(Due to time constraints, before- and after-notes must be added at a later time. Please see profile – news section – for more.)**

"Shu! ! !"

Jiro, yelling his name. And then, where he'd been struck only a moment before, there is excruciating pain. He looks down at his side to see how bad the damage is-

Red. So, so much red.

The most he'd ever bled in his life had been when he was five, falling out of a tree and slicing open his ulnar artery.

The most he'd ever bled, that is, until now.

... He can't let it end here. Not this way. And certainly not so soon. There are things that he's left unfinished, people who need his help.

Shu grits his teeth and lifts his head, trying to assess the situation while actively forcing himself to stop wondering if Shadow User regeneration will be enough to keep him from bleeding to death.

Shu lost sight of Rudolf when the Superior Lifeform attacked them, and he still remains out of sight. Bouquet and Xi are both down, and Noi - who is injured - is trying to wake up the former. Fagino has Marumaro forced into a corner, and Hildegard is circling above all of them, likely prepared to move in for the kill. And Jiro is-

"_Shu_!"

-running straight towards him as everything slows down.

... It's been a while since Jiro has sounded panicked. And even the few times Shu had heard Jiro sound that way, his old rival's voice had never held fear.

He already knows what he'll find when he turns around. He also already knows it will be too late.

Yet Shu still feels surprise when he looks behind him and sees the golden energy blast heading his way.

The attack hits its mark with flawless, unfaltering, and precise accuracy.

* * *

><p>Shu feels warmth all around him.<p>

For a moment, he feels nothing but contentment.

And then his body starts to ache in just about every place he can think of.

He groans and rolls onto his side, curling up involuntarily. Whatever he went through must've been pretty bad for him to be feeling like this.

... How _did_ he end up like this?

Shu takes deep breaths past the sharp sensation in his lungs, trying to think back to the last thing he can remember...

_We... We were in that canyon. We had just met up with Jiro and Xi. And after that... The Superior Lifeforms attacked._

It starts getting hazy after that. Shu tries to force his mind to conjure up the memories, but his brain has never been particularly cooperative with him, and it doesn't seem to want to start now. He gives up for the time being, deciding that it isn't worth (more of) the pain in his head.

Shu sits up, opens his eyes - and freezes.

They had been attacked in a canyon.

Shu is in a forest clearing.

_Where... Where am I?_

This place reminds him of something. Almost déjà vu, but not completely. But he _knows_ he's never been here before... Has he? It's a very run-of-the-mill kind of place. Can he really be sure this is the first time he's seen it?

_Only one way to find out, I guess._

Standing is difficult, but not as hard as he thought. It does take longer than usual. He should probably be more concerned about that, but can't really be bothered to worry about it at the moment.

He looks around, but nothing stands out. The forest is thick, and he can see nothing beyond the trees and bushes. With a small sigh, he picks a direction at random and starts walking.

Aside from the dull aching all over his body, the short trek is relatively uneventful. The path, such as it is, stays the same right up until he stumbles upon some bushes that are taller than his head. Grumbling, he shoves his way through.

It isn't until he manages to get to the other side of the plants that Shu realizes he's also passed the tree-line. Right after that comes the realization that he's staring at a dusty road; from the many shoe prints that cover the dirt, he can tell that it's well-used.

It's about then that he notices buildings close by, their roofs visible over the treetops directly across from him. _I must have ended up near a village..._

But _how_ did he end up here?

Shu starts as a bell begins to toll. He looks around wildly, halfway towards panic until he recognizes just what _kind_ of bell it is.

_That's... a school bell._

The following moments are a bit surreal as he watches children of all ages running down the path, all of them heading to his left, laughing and playing as they go.

Amidst the rush of kids, Shu hears a little girl yelp, followed by the sound of several moderately-sized objects (his guess, anyway) thumping to the ground.

Over the happy cries of the children, he hears a boy's voice...

"_Jina_. I _told_ you to let me carry some of that."

...And Shu freezes, his heart stopping, unable to believe what he's hearing.

He knows that voice. The last time he'd heard it, it was slightly deeper, not quite as young. And as long as he's known that person, they had never, ever sounded so playful, so carefree, so happy. If Shu didn't know them, he would think that it's someone else. But _God_, does he ever know that voice. He could never forget it.

The name escapes from Shu as a choked exhale. "_Jiro_."

He doesn't understand this. None of it makes any sense. But Shu knows, without a doubt, that it's him.

The bustling crowd clears at last, and he sees a little girl in light and dark pink clothes standing in the middle of the road with her back to him, her feet surrounded by fallen books. He thinks he might know who she is after spotting her hair, which is that very particular shade of silver-brown. But when she looks down and to the side, her identity is confirmed for him - she has _his_ eyes, and Shu would know those ocean blue eyes anywhere. "I'm sorry," he hears her say to someone, someone he's sure he knows even though he hasn't had visual evidence, "I thought I could carry them. I never expected the strap to break."

"I kept telling you to get a new book bag. You've had that thing for years, and it was old when you got it. But what does Big Brother know, right?" He laughs, and Shu feels a pang in his chest; it's a sound he's never heard. It sounds... nice.

"I know, I know... But I really liked it, you know?" She sighs. "What a shame..."

"Don't worry about it." An arm reaches around the girl's legs, and Shu's breath stills as he sees Jiro for the first time, just barely younger than the day Shu met him and Zola. Jiro grabs for the book behind who Shu is now certain is his old rival's sister. "We'll see if Mom can fix it when we get home." He starts looking up, tossing his head back a little to get those stubborn locks of hair out of his eyes-

And Jiro pauses as he sees Shu.

Shu wants to say something to him, so very badly, but he doesn't even know what it is he wants to tell Jiro, and he doubts he could force out any of the words right now anyway.

Then Jiro unfreezes – and gives Shu the warmest and most welcoming smile he's ever seen. "Hey, there. You're not from around here, are you?"

Jiro's sister looks at Shu over her shoulder, eyebrows furrowed as she murmurs under her breath, "Who's that?"

"N… No." Seems he can talk after all, even if it's hardly more than a whisper. "No, I'm not."

Jiro stands, holding the book against his side. His face is open and gentle. "Are you lost?"

"…Yes." Shu swallows past a sudden tightness in his throat. "Yes, I think I am." He shuts his eyes, which have started to sting out of nowhere. "I-I… I don't know where I am." He's pretty sure about where he is. He just can't bear to say it out loud.

"Oh." Jiro sounds a little surprised. Shu opens his eyes again; the (now) younger boy is still smiling. "Well, you're in Mafe-"

"How can he _think_ that he's lost?" The girl – Jina – is looking at him more fully now, slight irritation evident by the set of her jaw. Shu bristles inwardly, both from her words and expression, but is careful to keep it from being visible.

"Hey," Jiro admonishes his sister softly but shortly. "Enough of that." He shoots a grin at Shu, apologetic and sheepish. "Sorry. I don't know what's gotten into her all of a sudden. Anyway…" He places a hand over his chest. "I'm Jiro." He holds out a hand to indicate his sibling, "And this is my younger sister, Jina." He drops his arm, tilting his head to the side. "What's your name?"

Something aches deeply inside of Shu. Jiro is so… _kind_. Kind and _warm_.

…_What did they do to you, Jiro? What did they do that made you into that cold and angry person I met two years ago?_

"…My name is Shu." His mind reels. This… All of this… It's all just too much. Only half aware of the movement, he clutches at his side; dizzily, he wonders why, but is too preoccupied with not looking as weak as he feels to worry about it. "I-"

"You're _bleeding_!" Jina's shriek startles him out of whatever he was going to say. Shu blinks to clear his suddenly blurring vision, and spots Jina blanching; beside her, Jiro's mouth hangs open in shock. Before anyone can do anything else, Jina drops the books she had previously picked up, darting over to Shu and crouching by his side.

Jina peels his hand away from what must be the wound, and Shu observes, with a distant and almost clinical interest, that his palm is covered in blood, already turning reddish brown as it begins to dry. "…Oh." He says simply. "I guess I _am_ bleeding."

"_You guess you are_?" Jina's head snaps up to stare at him. She is possibly _the_ most incredulous person he has ever seen or heard. Forgetting his earlier frustration with her, Shu actually finds it rather impressive that the girl is able to pull that off. Jina continues, "_You have a gash the size of my forearm just below your ribs_."

Shu spends a few seconds blinking at her. The reason may be that he's kind of out of it right now, but all he can say is, "…Oh." Seriously, though. He was buried under a massive pile of debris when he was ten, during which time he may have actually been _dead_ for a few minutes. Even if he were completely in his right mind he wouldn't be afraid right now.

Jina looks at him a bit longer, then closes her eyes and shakes her head, letting out a huff of either disgust or irritation (Shu can't really tell). "Ugh. Never mind." She glances over her shoulder. "Big Brother, we need to get him home. I can't treat him here."

"O-oh, no, you don't have to do that." Shu starts raising his non-bloody hand, but immediately drops it. "I'll be fine, really. I heal fast."

Jina twists her neck to face him again; if Shu thought she was incredulous before, it's nothing compared to this. "Are you _insane_?" Another shake of the head. "No. Forget it. Don't answer that." And again, she looks at her brother. "Jiro, we need to hurry. I think he's delirious."

"I am not!" Shu flares, indignant and agitated at the false claim. Something about this girl is _really_ getting under his skin…

"Jina," Jiro begins hesitantly, "I don't know if-"

"_Boys_." Jina spits out the word like a vile curse word. Roughly, she grabs Shu by the wrist with both of her hands and pulls _hard_. "Come on, you – before you bleed out in the middle of the road."

"_Hey_!" Shu yelps-shouts, infuriated. Where does she get off, pulling him like some ragdoll? "I _told_ you, I'll be _fine_-! Let _go_ already-!"

From behind him, Shu hears Jiro scrambling to pick up the books as he calls out, "H-hey, Jina! Wait a minute! _Hey_!" A quiet sigh follows. "Aw, Sis, what'd you get me into this time…?"

* * *

><p>Natalie's head darts up as the front door slams open.<p>

A boy comes tumbling through, shouting, "Would you quit _pushing_ me like that? !" He's shoved further inside by Jina, who is scowling (an unusual occurrence). Natalie can't recall ever seeing this boy before. He is a few inches taller than her Jiro, but still shorter than the age she guessed him to be from his voice (twelve or thirteen); and yet his eyes are very old, making it difficult to place his age.

From the moment she lays eyes on him, the boy is an enigma with too many hidden layers to count.

(She has no way of knowing how much impact this boy will have on her life.)

Kenichi starts speaking his daughter's name, "Jina-"

"No time to talk." Her words are quick and brief. Jina sounds remarkably similar to her grandfather (Jina's; Natalie's father) in this moment, and it surprises Natalie – her daughter has never sounded this way before. "Idiot dying."

"_What_? ! !" The boy squawks, furious.

As Jina pushes him towards the staircase leading to the family's bedrooms, Jiro stumbles through the house's entrance, arms piled high with numerous books. Breathing heavily, he dumps them on the nearest table he can find and heads after his sister. He stops at the first step, hand on the banister, looks at Natalie and Kenichi and says, "_Please_ don't ask me what's going on, because I have _no_ idea." With that, he rushes upstairs after Jina and the unfamiliar boy.

"Kenichi…" Stunned, Natalie stares at the spot of the ceiling where she guesses Jina's room is. "…What just happened?"

"I… really don't know, dear."

Not a moment after her husband says this, there is a thump from upstairs so loud that Natalie nearly drops her clothing-filled washing basket onto the floor.

"OW! Get that away from me! ! It _hurts_! ! !" The boy.

"Hold still! I have to clean out the wound!" Jina.

"I don't care! Get it away!"

"Stop moving! Idiot!"

"HEY! What are you doing? Let go of my shirt! !"

"Take it off! It's in my way!"

Another loud thump. Cups rattle inside of the cabinets.

"Ow! Quit it! Let go of me! !"

"Take! It! OFF! ! !"

A third thump. Something wooden and out of sight falls over.

And then there is the piercing sound of cloth tearing.

For a second, there is silence.

And then:

"YOU RIPPED IT! YOU LITTLE BRAT, YOU RIPPED MY SHIRT!"

Loud thump. Followed immediately by another one.

It goes quiet again.

Then, voice trembling slightly, Jiro nervously calls out, "Mom… I think you'd better come up here. Bring your sewing supplies. And a lot of red thread. And a lot of orange. And a bit of black. And… Oh, gosh, um… J-just… Just bring everything you have…"

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry." Jiro, looking at him in the mirror's reflection, says in apology, "I know it's a little big on you in a few places, but… It <em>does<em> look good on you, though." Jiro smiles a little. "My grandfather would be glad, I think, that someone is wearing his old clothes so well."

Shu stares at himself. The collar is low, almost as low as his tank top from two years ago. (He can't even bear to look at that black shirt anymore, not really; too many memories.) He lifts a hand towards his collarbone; excluding bathing, it's been a long time since he's seen it. The slot neckline (he thinks that's what it's called; he's seen them before, but was never really sure about their name) is lined with blue, just like the edges of the sleeves, the color standing out on the white shirt. The elbow-length sleeves are a tad too large for him, and are a little baggy as they hang from his arms. The blue pants, the same shade as the collar, are also very loose. Shu is used to wearing close-fitting clothes, so it feels weird to be in clothing that is just the opposite. The last time he'd worn anything like this, clothes that are so loose-fitting… He must've been about seven, just starting to talk again after that period of time he'd been "almost-mute" after his mother died.

He looks like a stranger. At the same time, he looks more like himself than he has in a long time.

Shu stretches his toes in his shoes, tugs at the mostly-white shirt – feeling both the old and the new. "So, these were his clothes, then? Your grandfather, I mean."

"Yep." Jiro nods. His hair falls in front of his face; he pushes it back. "He was probably about your age, too." Jiro's eyebrows furrow. "How old _are_ you, anyway?"

"I'm twelve." Shu rubs the back of his neck, shivering as he catches sight of his bare wrists. He'd gotten blood on his wristbands somehow, and Jiro's mother had snatched them away for washing during the chaos of dressing the cut on his side. Fortunately, with night falling, the lighting isn't good, so he doesn't think anyone has seen the scar on his left wrist. He doesn't know what he'll do if he's still here when morning comes, but he's going to have to deal with it then. "Look, Jiro, I…" It sting a little (more than a little – a lot more), the fact that Jiro doesn't know him. Things had been volatile between them in the beginning, but Shu has since come to think of Jiro as… a friend. _Yes. A friend. Maybe once I would have been, but I'm not afraid to call him that anymore._ Now, though… It's almost as if that hard-earned friendship has been lost. This Jiro is not the same as the one he knows, not really, and it _hurts_ – because Shu finally understand a little more (not completely; probably never completely) just how badly Grand Kingdom destroyed both Jiro himself and the life that he'd had. And also because it feels like he's starting over with Jiro from square one. Shu swallows hard, tries not to think about it too much. "… I'm really grateful for everything that you've done for me. I'm sorry that I've put you and your family out…"

"Oh, no," Jiro shakes his head. "Don't worry about it; it's no trouble at all. Besides, I'm just glad you're okay-"

"You know what you've done that's _really_ put me out?" Jina doesn't wait for a response. "Wearing your dumb shoes with my grandpa's clothes. That's too weird for words."

"It isn't weird." Shu snaps, fists clenching. "And you already made me lose my shirt and my shorts. Now you want me to give up my shoes, too?"

"It looks fine." Jiro pats Shu's arm. "Don't mind her. I suppose I should apologize for my sister, too. I don't know what's gotten into her… She never acts this way."

The corner of Shu's mouth twists wryly. "Guess I must be a special case."

* * *

><p>"…You mean… You don't know how you got here?" Jiro leans forward from his place at Shu's right, his eyes brimming with concern.<p>

Shu can't really place it, but… Something about that concern is… comforting. _But, why?_ The more cynical part of himself can't help but wonder, _You just met me, and yet… Why do you care so much…?_

… _Is this really how you used to be?_

Shu scrapes the toe of his boot lightly along the floorboards. From where the three of them sit on Jina's bed, neither of the siblings' feet touches the ground (though Jiro is pretty close). Jina's shoe knocks into his left leg – not the first time since they've seated themselves here – and Shu can tell that she's prompting him to speak. Any anger at her nudge is quickly discarded – he's too preoccupied with digging around in the back of his mind for a clear answer. "… No. I just woke up in the forest, with no idea how I'd gotten there. I… think I remember almost everything up to it. But I don't know _how_ I came here. And I guess I really don't know how much time has passed from what I remember to right now." Not exactly true concerning that last bit, because he knows he's in the past – Jiro is younger, and his family is alive. So he says it mostly for show; if Shu tells them he's from the future, they'll think he's crazy. However, that brings about a rather disconcerting musing: is Shu's time continuing despite him being gone? Shu's stomach clenches at the thought of his friends having to stop the Superior Lifeforms without him and Blue Dragon.

"Are you sure you don't have amnesia?" It's the gentlest that Jina has spoken to him since he met her.

"If I had amnesia, I wouldn't remember as much as I do." Shu runs a hand through his hair, sighing. "I'm not even really sure what to do from here…"

"Well," Jiro reaches over to lay a hand on Shu's shoulder, "you can stay here for as long as you like."

"_What_?" Jina glares at her brother.

"Jina, we have a spare room. And Mom and Dad won't mind."

Jina looks at him with something akin to helplessness. "You _can't_ be serious." She watches him for a moment. Then, "Ugh! You _are_ serious!" She stands, starting to pace. "No way. You can't honestly expect me to put up with living under the same roof as this _moron_-"

"Hey!" Shu stands, starts moving towards her-

He steps on something lying on the ground and loses his footing.

Shu falls backwards, sees the panic on Jiro's face. He has just enough time to think that there's something familiar about it before his head hits the wall with a resounding crack.

~.~.~.

_And then the flashes of memory tumble in._

_The Superior Lifeforms attack, though Rottares is oddly absent._

_In the ensuing fight, Rudolf swings his tail like a mace. All of them dodge, but Bouquet and Xi aren't quick enough to get away. When Shu lands from his evading jump, he whirls around and discovers this._

_Neither of them are moving._

_He sees Bouquet in his mind's eyes, flashing a sunny smile and calling him "Darling"._

_Shu's vision goes red._

_He hears Jiro shout for Xi as Shu screams Bouquet's name._

_And then one of the Superior Lifeforms blindsides him. He doesn't know who, but his guess is Hildegard, because he hears her laugh._

_The next thing Shu knows, he has blood running down his side._

_Noi shakes Bouquet, begging her to wake up, his words strangled and choked as he tries his hardest not to cry._

_Saber Tiger and Fagino have their hands locked together, pushing hard against one another. Saber Tiger is trying with all his might to hold the Pink Dragon back, but it's clear that Marumaro is tiring – every few seconds the Devee boy gets pushed back, his shoes leaving deep grooves in the rocky terrain._

_And then Jiro is screaming Shu's name, his expression one of pure agony, and Shu can tell it's because Jiro knows he's going to lose someone he cares about again._

_Shu turns - and Rudolf is there. He thinks he sees satisfaction and triumph glint in the Gold Dragon's sapphire blue eyes._

_But it could just be a trick of the light._

_The attack hurdles towards Shu, and then it's over._

~.~.~.

"_Shu_!"

Shu gasps as he wakes, his back arching off of whatever he's laying on. He pants desperately, trying to take in air. He knows there's no water, but it feels like he's drowning. He stares upward, unable to comprehend what he's seeing. He closes his eyes, then opens them again, hoping for more clarity.

He sees Jiro, younger than in his memory-vision. He's confused until he remembers that he's in the past now. He grabs the other boy's elbow. "J-Jiro…" His throat feels constricted, making speech difficult. But he needs to hear a familiar voice, even if that voice is a little different.

Jiro slumps with relief. "You're alright." The words are a tired breath out. He touches Shu's hand. "When you hit your head, I thought…"

Shu feels something bump his arm, and then a piercing bright light is forcing him to look up, prying his eyelids apart and forcing him to look at that brightness that gives him a horrible headache. Shu, dazed and having no idea what's happening, cries out in distress and starts struggling.

But then he hears Jiro's voice, calm and soothing. "Easy, Shu. It's okay. Jina is checking to see if you're hurt."

Shu stills his movements. At last, the light finally goes away. Through the colors that spot and speckle his vision, he can see Jina leaning over him. "It doesn't look like he has a concussion," she says. "It'll probably hurt for a while, though."

Jina couldn't be more right; Shu groans and grabs his forehead as it starts to pound.

When the pain subsides a little, Shu lets himself be pulled up by Jiro. "You should take it easy for a while, Shu," his old – or is it "future"? – rival tells him. "Try to relax and not move around too much."

But Shu can't relax. He's finally fully conscious for the first time since he ended up in the past, and though he's still at the stage of theories, his minds whirls as he starts trying to put it all together. _Rudolf… The attack…_

The next thought is both incredibly frightening and entirely possible.

_Did I… die?_

* * *

><p>"You're going to take a <em>walk<em>?"

Jiro sounds so bewildered that Shu has the strange urge to apologize. It would only sound weird, though (after all, neither of them have done anything wrong), so he shoves the feeling down. "I just need to clear my head. It's been a long day." _Longer than you know, Jiro._ "How much time until dinner is ready?"

"Oh." Jiro blinks, seeming caught off guard. "Well, let's see… Probably about fifteen minutes, I think."

"Okay. Good." Shu nods, forces a smile. One foot is already on the porch steps. "I promise I won't go far."

"Ah- Shu, wait!" Jiro reaches toward him.

But Shu doesn't see – he's already off and running into the night.

* * *

><p>When he stops running, Shu finds himself in another forested clearing. It's dark, though, so for all he knows, it could be the same one as earlier.<p>

He takes in a deep breath of crisp nighttime air. The chill reminds him of Talta nights.

Shu opens his eyes (unaware that he'd closed them) and says, "Blue Dragon."

And he waits.

Waits.

_Waits_.

…But nothing happens.

"_Blue Dragon_." Shu speaks more forcefully, but his voice shakes. He reaches out with his mind, trying to sense his Shadow-

And then he knows.

Why couldn't he tell? _Why couldn't he tell_?

He never felt it. He should have _felt_ it.

He should have felt that Blue Dragon's omnipresent anger is dimmed. As if there is a thick, solid wall between Shadow and User.

…As if Blue Dragon is Sealed inside of him.

"Blue Dragon!" Shu falls to his knees, fingers digging into the soil where the moon casts his ordinary (weak and useless) shadow onto the ground. "_Blue Dragon_!" Hot tears course down his face, but he pays them no mind, too caught up in his anguish to even feel it. "Oh, God, please, not again-!"

Shu cannot summon Blue Dragon.

* * *

><p>Everything is still and quiet in the guest room.<p>

The moonlight casts a white-blue glow over everything. Not that there's much inside here, for that matter – a bed, which he's sitting on, and a small table beside it; a desk and chair, with a presently unlit lamp on the desk's corner; and drawers, which would be filled with his belongings if he'd brought any (his backpack seems to have not made the trip to the past). He'll probably put his clothes (or the ones that he's been leant) in the drawers when they've been properly washed and stitched. For now, the only things he has are the contents of his shorts' pockets, and he holds both of those items in each of his hands.

In his left hand are his dog tags. He brushes his thumb over the indentations, feeling a little wistful. When he joined the Resistance, he received two different tags – one for his "official" rank, and one for his regiment (though calling it a regiment is always a bit of stretch – Legolas was sort of the person in charge of the Guard, and he isn't a colonel, and additionally, always considered himself the "leader" of the entire Resistance, despite the fact that no one ever really took him too seriously.) His official tag, the smaller of the two, reads:

LT-CDR SHIOMIZU, SHU  
>4171358<br>LEGOLAS PERSONAL GUARD  
>TYPE B<br>SWORD, MECHAT, BLACK SHADOW ROBOT  
>SCI, IF, AL: TN<p>

The larger one, for his so-called regiment – Legolas' Personal Guard – is similar to the other:

CAPT. SHIOMIZU, SHU  
>4171358<br>JUNIOR RESISTANCE SQUAD  
>TYPE B<br>11191368  
>SECOND: ROSE, HANNAH  THIRD: RA, BOUQUET  
>TALTA, MAIN<br>SCI, IF, ALL: TN

About two years of his life, represented by two pieces of metal that fit in the palm of his hand.

Shu's fingernail skids along Bouquet's name, and he feels a pang at the reminiscence it calls up. "Ra" isn't really her last name; Bouquet has no surname, so she gave her clan name (which, technically, is actually her race) because she had no other name to give. (Upon learning his last name, Bouquet wanted to put "Shiomizu, Bouquet", but Shu staunchly refused.)

Thinking about that memory brings his attention to the second item.

In his right hand is the tied red-and-white-check handkerchief that holds Bouquet's seashell. She gave him both the little cream-colored shell and the cloth to keep it safely wrapped in the day they arrived on the shore of Grand Kingdom's continent, when Zola let them take a break at the whirlpools near the dock. It represents for Shu everything that Bouquet means to him, as well as the last time that he experienced pure and untroubled happiness.

An image of Bouquet flashes in his mind, limp and unmoving on the stony ground.

_Even if I do get back… will she still be alive?_

He immediately ceases all thought processes in that vein. If he starts thinking about it for real, he won't be able to stop.

He places the items on the bedside table, resisting the instinctual urge to place them in his pockets. (Briefly, he feels thankful that they gave him pants with a pocket. Unfortunately, it only has one, but he's glad to have it – he would feel wrong, to not have his tags and Bouquet's shell close by. He can't take the chance of putting them in the pocket while he sleeps, though – with both items in the same spot, there would be too much risk of crushing the seashell.) As he prepares to get in bed, Shu notices the light in the room and hears Jiro's voice echo in his head, a lifetime ago in the city of Logic.

"_The moon looks more beautiful in my hometown."_

He lifts his eyes towards the window…

Shu lays his head on the pillow, smiling softly and sadly. "…You were right, Jiro."


End file.
